Trump, Rubio seek a deal with Havana: Has the US-Cuba saga reached its finale?

Cuba is exotic — a fantasy set in the tropics. It occupies an outsized place in the American imagination, from “The Godfather Part II” to “Scarface” to James Bond’s ”No Time to Die.”

And now, the movie magic continues.

This time, a child of Cuban immigrants plays the U.S. secretary of State. President Trump is in the lead role, eyes wide as he anticipates realizing a nearly 70-year-old U.S. dream of ending the communist regime founded by Fidel Castro.

Trump is so excited to be cast as the president who defeats the communists that he recently described the impoverished island with no military might as “an unusual and extraordinary threat.” 

How is that true? He did not say. Villains from Russia, China and Iran are not exactly rushing to help Cuba in its current economic crisis. The bad guys are not positioning missiles there this time.

Cuba is approaching economic collapse and looks feeble. Since the U.S. ousted Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in January, they have been short of oil. That has led to food scarcity and blackouts. Experts warn of a crisis as people flee the island, spreading unrest throughout the Caribbean, Florida and the Gulf Coast.

Mexico’s president heightened the drama when she stood up to Trump. The U.S. shutdown of oil imports to Cuba was “unjust,” she said defiantly. She added, “You cannot strangle a people like this. They don’t have fuel for hospitals, for schools.” 

That’s her story. But Trump is watching a different movie. He sees himself as a hero coming to the rescue of Cubans who fled an oppressive regime.

“We have a lot of great Cuban Americans, and they’re going to........

© The Hill